Lady Bison tennis players continue a winning tradition Continuing a tradition of winning, the Lady Bison tennis team finished the season ranked among the top 20 universities in the nation, making this the fourth time in the past five years for the team to go to the nationals. This first year on NCAA probation proved to be no greater challenge than the NAIA matches, though some rules had to be changed to match the new division's standards. "Because of our previous high ranking, we made it to the nationals despite some losses in the regionals that were due to bad draws and injuries," senior Claudia Cordera said. Coach David Elliott praised the team's determination to work hard both on and off the courts. "The players maintained an average G.P.A ofabove 3.0, which indicates their desire to do their best academically, and that attitude obviously carried over onto the courts." Both Beatriz Arvizu and Lety Diaz, seniors, were named Academic All-Americans. During the spring semester, matches took place almost every week and caused the players to miss classes. "Often, we would take our books along and study all the way to and from the match," Cordera said. Women's Ten nis. First row: Jessica Ruiz, BeatrizArvizu, AliciaRojas, Cristina Rodriguez. Second row: Claudia Navarro, Claudia Cardera, Leticia Diaz, Coach David Elliott, Shelly Schaefer. Photo by Jeff Montgomery. 250 Women's Tennis Sophomore Shelly Schaefer noted that the team was strongly motivated by its reputation. "Knowing that other schools look up to Harding's team and expect us to succeed makes me try all the harder to win," she said. The competitive spirit in playing tennis did not keep the players from being good friends off the court. The men's and the women's teams enjoyed getting together for joint activities, such as going to Heber Springs for outings. After the summer, with their two highestranked players gone, the Lady Bisons welcomed the replacements, Julieta Gil and Yessica Sanchez, to the team. In Coach Elliott's opinion, the new players "promise to be a valuable addition to the team. They are strong and consistent and have the necessary experience to play NCAA." Gil actually transferred from Laredo, whose team plays in division I ofNCAA. "At first, I was a little nervous about changing schools and all," she said. "But, now that I'm here, I'm really excited about playing on the team. Everyone is so friendly. I just know we will have a good season." With such confidence, how could it be otherwise? - Karin Springer
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